Marvel announces new release dates, pushed back amid virus

With the spread of COVID-19, several movie productions have been postponed. Marvel released its new release dates, including “Black Widow” and “The Eternals.”

Disney announced Friday it would be updating its release schedule by pushing back the dates of six Marvel movies — in addition to pushing back live-action adaptation of “Mulan” and moving “Artemis Fowl” directly to Disney Plus.

It’s all part of the effort different companies and streaming services have been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic — pushing back release dates to avoid large gatherings, while putting some movies online immediately to help consumers cope with staying indoors.

“Black Widow” — the Marvel origin story starring Scarlett Johansson — was originally set to kick off the summer movie season. Instead, it will be pushed back to Nov. 6.

This caused a ripple effect, because of the nature of Marvel films. They’re all interconnected, so pushing on movie back means pushing them all back — to ensure the timeline doesn’t’ get messed with.

This will push most of the upcoming Marvel films back at least three months.

The “Black Widow” release date will replace that of “The Eternals” which is now set for Feb. 21 of next year. Similarly, “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will be pushed from its February date to May 7, 2021.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” will move from its May date to Nov. 5, 2021. And, as a result “Thor: Love and Thunder” will also be pushed back three months, premiering Feb. 18, 2022.

But, Disney said it’s not abandoning the summer movie-free. “Mulan” — which was set to release in March — will now open July 24. But, those plans are subject to change depending on the course of the virus.

With the plans to shift nearly all of its big-budget films, Disney is set to release “Artemis Fowl” early on its streaming service. The movie was originally set to release in August, but is now scheduled to release in May.

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